Category All Art Classes Classical Music Concerts DANCE Etc Exhibits Families Farmers Markets Film Happenings Holiday Holiday Lectures Music (non-classical) Theater

Submit events

PHOTO BY CLARE JENSEN

NEW SCHOOL. Children who attend TCC’s new early learning center ride tricycles through their brand new creative play area. The new center has doubled the amount of children served at the center, enabling more student-parents to attend the college.

TCC broadens childcare, education opportunities for adults

By Clare Jensen

Tacoma Community College (TCC) has had a long history of providing childcare to the large percentage of student-parents who attend the school.

From the student-initiated daycare run at a nearby church back in the early 1970s to a student-funded on-campus site that opened in 1982, convenient childcare for the one-third of community college students who need it has been a priority for the TCC student body.

Fast forward to the early 21st century.

Again, as the population outgrew the outdated daycare, students stepped up  to provide nearly one-third of the funds needed to build a bigger, state-of-the-art and environmentally sustainable early learning facility.

The new building can serve twice as many students and their children. Capacity has jumped from 43 to 86 children, enabling more student-parents to pursue an education.

Mike Gregoire spoke on behalf of his wife, Governor Christine Gregoire, at a grand-opening event Oct. 21. “This early learning center not only provides access to higher education (for parents), but also enriches the lives (of children),” he said.

Infants, toddlers and the TCC early education training program are now accommodated in the 13,000-square-foot building, which opened in September.

Early education students can observe their future pupils through one-way mirrors at each level of development, which means they get an uninhibited view of the children, and also keep from disrupting the classroom routine. Teachers and parents can also use the “observation pods” to view their children’s behavior unbeknownst to them.

“It’s the coolest thing,” said Tabitha Curtis, co-teacher for the 3 to 5-year-old classroom the “Dragonflies.” “It’s completely objective. You’re on the outside looking in. I can see what triggers behavioral issues.”

TCC President Pamela Transue noted that many of the students at TCC would not be able to go to college without affordable childcare. This is true for single mother Lisa Ballerino, whose 4-year-old daughter Fay has been enrolled at the center for the past year.

“I couldn’t do it,” without the on-campus center, she said. “I know I can leave my child here, go to my classes…and know she is in a place where she’ll be safe, nurtured and loved.”

Ballerino noted the new center’s emphasis on child exploration is a great resource for developing minds. Countless water play stations and a large outdoor sandbox are opportunities for the children to explore, something that was lacking at the old center.

“There’s serious motor skills (development) going on out here,” said Tammy Dorman, Curtis’ fellow teacher.

The $6.6 million facility has doubled student access while increasing learning opportunities for both children and adults, but there is still a “significant” waiting list for the center, according to Angela Wheeler, center program assistant.

Wheeler said there is room to expand in the future. The center has the option of operating one additional room. Currently, the TCC Foundation is working to raise the $420,000 still needed for the new building’s construction costs.

If you are interested in partnering with TCC and the long list of private and public donors who have contributed to this project, contact the TCC Foundation at (253) 460-4379.

Story Tools